| Featured Eco Columnist Elizabeth Mann |
Manuel Antonio National Park is located on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, just south of Quepos. The 682 hectare park is the smallest of any Costa Rican national park. Its beautiful white sand beaches and trails through the tropical rainforest forest, make it one of Costa Rica’s most popular parks. The amount of visitors at the park annually is an astounding amount of 150,000, and it is the second most visited national park in Costa Rica!
Manuel Antonio has four beaches which are composed inside the interior of the park. The beaches are Manuel Antonio, Espadilla Sur, Escondida, and Playita. The beaches at Manuel Antonio are exquisite with their clear blue skies and sparkling waters. Gazing at the scenic oceanfront is like entering a painting of a great artist except it is alive and full of motion. The supple waters ripple as they collide with land and the sounds of gentle waves bring peace and happiness to all who enter this scene.
The diversity of wildlife at Manuel Antonio National Park includes 109 species of mammals and 184 species of birds as well as three different monkey species. In the park’s tropical climate, colorful flora thrive and the wildlife make their homes high in the rainforest trees. Along the Sloth Trail at Manuel Antonio, I had the pleasure of seeing a Three-toed sloth for the first time! I also captured video footage which you can see on my Youtube channel, FLButterflyGirl. Watching the sloth creep among the branches was almost suspenseful as I wondered if it could complete the journey. To read more of my adventures please visit http://elizabethssecretgarden.blogspot.com.